That squirrel story cracked me up—nature really does have a way of keeping us humble. I’m right there with you on the sample chips. I thought I’d picked out this gorgeous teal, but in my backyard it looked like someone spilled windshield wiper fluid in the pool. The timeline thing is so real too. My “two-week” reno turned into five, mostly because the tile guy’s truck broke down and then it rained for what felt like a month straight. At least now I know to expect the unexpected... and maybe keep a backup stash of snacks for stress-eating.
I feel you on the color surprise—my “classic blue” ended up looking like a kiddie pool in broad daylight. Timelines are a joke, honestly. I kept telling myself, at least the mess meant progress... even if it took way longer than planned.
Timelines are a joke, honestly.
Right? I once had a client pick “seafoam green” and it looked more like hospital scrubs in the sun. The whole thing dragged on for weeks because of rain delays and tile mix-ups. At least you’re right—the chaos means something’s happening, even if it’s not what you pictured at first.
The whole thing dragged on for weeks because of rain delays and tile mix-ups.
That sounds about right. We budgeted for six weeks, but it ended up closer to three months. Weather was a big factor, but honestly, picking materials took longer than I expected. I learned to double-check every delivery—one wrong box of tiles can set you back days.
We had a similar experience with our last reno—planned for two months, ended up being almost four. Rain’s always a wild card, but I think the bigger surprise was how long it took to get the right finishes. One thing that helped us was having backup tile options picked out ahead of time. Cuts down on those last-minute scrambles. Still, delays seem almost inevitable... just part of the process, I guess.